Effect of Skin-to-Skin Contact between Mothers and Newborns at Birth on Temperature, Oxygen Saturation, and Initiation of Breast Feeding

Abstract

Background: Immediately after birth, the newborn should be placed in Skin-to-Skin Contact (SSC) with their mothers for at least an hour, and mothers should be assisted to initiate breastfeeding their newborns within the first half-hour. Objective is to explore the effect of skin-toskin contact between mothers and newborns at birth on temperature, oxygen saturation, and initiation of breast feeding. Method: A quasi-experimental design was utilized on the current study. Sample and setting: 300 mothers and their newborns were included as purposive sample in the delivery room at Minia University Hospital for Obstetrics and Pediatrics and Minia General Hospital. They divided randomly into two groups 150 for skin-to-skin contact (the study group) and 150 for the routine care (the control group). Tools: Data collection requires only one tool including four parts formed up a structured interview questionnaire: Part (1), assessed the personal and obstetric data of the mothers' Part (2) assessed the newborns data. Part (3) assessed the newborns auxiliary temperature, oxygen saturation, time of initiating breast feeding and duration of the first breast fed lastly Part (4) assessed the LATCH breastfeeding assessment tool.Results: There was increase in axillary temperature stability, increase oxygen saturation SO2 more than 90% among newborns after birth, decreasing mean time to initiate breast feeding and increasing mean duration of the first breast fed among the skin-to-skin contact group than the routine care group. Conclusion: early skin-to-skin contact immediately after newborns birth led to auxiliary temperature stabilization, increase oxygen saturation more than 90%, early successful initiation of breast feeding and increasing the duration of the first breastfed.Recommendations: Continuous educational and training program concerning benefits and practice of SSC among health personnel is necessary. All stable newborns born at term via normal delivery should practice skin-to-skin contact soon after birth for at least the first primary hours of life with continual observation of mothers and newborns during early SSC.

Skin‐to‐skin contact after birth: Developing a research and practice guideline

“…[39][40][41][42] Neonatal transition to extrauterine life with and without skin-toskin contact has also been studied with babies from 25+ weeks and 1000+ g. As measured by parameters such as temperature, blood glucose levels and oxygen saturation, research examining full-term infants' transition to extrauterine life has shown that skin-to-skin contact is safe and the optimal choice for the habitat of the newborn. 21,38,[43][44][45][46][47][48] Prematurely born infants, as well as those born with low birth weight, transition well in skin-to-skin contact. [49][50][51][52][53] Even in cases of operative birth, immediate skin-to-skin contact supports the safe transition of the newborn.…”